Russia signed the first draft of an agreement to create a free trade zone between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) on Monday, formalizing its future implementation.
The new deal is the first ever to be signed with the EEU, an economic integration bloc formed by Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in January 2015.
The bloc has a combined population of 170 million people and a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$2.7 trillion.
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The Russian cabinet announced its final approval of the document, which aims at creating a stronger commercial relationship with Asian partners.
China and India have announced their interest in joining the free trade zone, and the EEU is also discussing free trade agreements with Egypt and Israel.
The deal with Vietnam will be strategical for Russian-Vietnamese relations, which will be marked by 17 different binational projects this year.
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Currently, about a hundred projects are being developed in Vietnam with Russian investment. Furthermore, Russia will soon begin building Vietnam's first nuclear power plant and will create a joint Center for Nuclear Science and Technology.
Vietnam aims at increasing trade with Russia to US$10 billion by 2020, and industrial Belorussian companies manufacture goods – such as cars – in the South Asian country.
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